Types of Casual Relationships

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsThe 4 Types of Casual RelationshipsHow Types of Casual Relationships DifferBenefits and Risks of Casual RelationshipsCasual Relationships Are Normal

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

The 4 Types of Casual Relationships

How Types of Casual Relationships Differ

Benefits and Risks of Casual Relationships

Casual Relationships Are Normal

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All relationships are different, including casual ones. The term “casual relationship” is decidedly vague. It can conjure thoughts of one-night stands, a “friends with benefits” scenario, or even just casual dating. According to experts, there are four main types of casual relationships that people may experience.

Research confirms what many of us already believe about the types of relationships that fall into this broad category: they are all somewhat different. But what might be surprising to some is that they also appear to benefit the people engaging in them.

At a GlanceCasual relationships can involve physical and emotional connections, including casual sex. However, such relationships don’t include the expectations or demands of a more formal, committed romantic relationship.People engage in casual relationships for many different reasons, and there are at least four main types of these casual relationships. Most people who engage in them as young adults eventually settle down in long-term partnerships and marriages as they get older.If you are not interested in a long-term, committed relationship, casual relationships can help fulfill your need for intimacy and sexual pleasure. Enter with your eyes open, communicate with your partner(s), and engage with a spirit ofcompassionand care for the people around you.

At a Glance

Casual relationships can involve physical and emotional connections, including casual sex. However, such relationships don’t include the expectations or demands of a more formal, committed romantic relationship.People engage in casual relationships for many different reasons, and there are at least four main types of these casual relationships. Most people who engage in them as young adults eventually settle down in long-term partnerships and marriages as they get older.If you are not interested in a long-term, committed relationship, casual relationships can help fulfill your need for intimacy and sexual pleasure. Enter with your eyes open, communicate with your partner(s), and engage with a spirit ofcompassionand care for the people around you.

Casual relationships can involve physical and emotional connections, including casual sex. However, such relationships don’t include the expectations or demands of a more formal, committed romantic relationship.

People engage in casual relationships for many different reasons, and there are at least four main types of these casual relationships. Most people who engage in them as young adults eventually settle down in long-term partnerships and marriages as they get older.

If you are not interested in a long-term, committed relationship, casual relationships can help fulfill your need for intimacy and sexual pleasure. Enter with your eyes open, communicate with your partner(s), and engage with a spirit ofcompassionand care for the people around you.

After running focus groups with 23 participants aged 18 to 24, the researchers identified four main types of casual relationships, from least intimate to most intimate:

Wentland and Reissing found that five different characteristics influence each type of casual relationship:

Frequency of Contact

Once the contact becomes repetitive, the relationship is in booty call, sex buddy, or FWB territory.

Type of Contact

Some relationships are sexual only, and others are both sexual and social. People in one-night stand and booty call relationships only have sexual contact.

Sex buddies and friends with benefits, on the other hand, share both sexual and social contacts. Social contact means that the people in the relationship can see each other in non-sexual contexts. They can be part of the samesocial circleor even be friends.

Personal Disclosure

By “personal disclosure,” the researchers mean that the people in the relationship share their feelings with each other.Sex buddy and FWB relationships have an expectation of personal disclosure, but one-night stand or booty call relationships do not.

Personal disclosure, particularly when it involves a mutual give-and-take between people, is an essential part of building close personal relationships. When people self-disclose, it tends to move the relationship out of the “casual” zone and into relationship territory.

Discussion of Relationship

This characteristic is not exactly like personal disclosure, although they are similar. According to the research, only friends with benefits discuss their relationship.

People involved in one-night stands, booty calls, or sex buddy relationships tend to avoid discussing the relationship at all.

This means that although sex buddies can talk about their feelings and become emotionally intimate, they don’t really apply that intimacy to their relationship.

Friendship

Casual relationships have three friendship levels: none, resultant, and pre-existing. People in one-night stands and booty call relationships tend not to share a friendship with each other.

Sex buddiesbecomefriends after the relationship starts. Friends with benefits are friendsbeforethey begin their sexual relationship.

Casual relationships are more complex than most people think. There are different levels of personal and social engagement, as well as different pathways towards longer-term relationships.

People, especially those of university age, engage in casual relationships for many reasons. Researchers Carl Rodrigue and Mylène Fernet of the University of Quebec looked at several studies and parsed out a few different themes.

Younger People Engage in Casual Relationships More Often

They noted, first, that casual relationships are more common in certain contexts and periods of people’s lives. For students (the majority of the respondents in these studies), a lot of it is about the university environment encouraging those kinds of relationships.

Students often said that they didn’t have the time or energy to develop long-term, emotionally committed relationships. They also talked about how the party culture normalized casual relationships.

Casual Relationships Require Less Work

Many of the studies mentioned how young adults use casual relationships to satisfy sexual, intimacy, companionship, and even self-confidence needs without having to commit a lot of energy or emotion into a relationship.

The lack of commitment, communication, and accountability that is inherent in casual relationships makes them attractive for young adults trying to find their place in the world.

Casual Relationships Can Have Downsides

This study also found a few negative aspects of casual relationships. Some of these included:

Participants also identified several risks associated with engaging in casual relationships, includingunrequited feelings, the potential for hurt feelings, and possible regrets and mistakes because of the relationship.

One major concern was the risk of ruining friendships with sex. Previously platonic relationships can get more complicated when sex leads to other emotions. Unrequited feelings may also increase the risk of the relationship becomingone-sided.

How can you manage the possible risks of casual relationships? Researchers suggest that good communication can mitigate many of these issues.

Post-FWB FriendshipsYou might wonder what happens to the friendship after the “with benefits” ends. While some might transition to a more committed relationship, most don’t. According to research, as long as people pay more attention to friendship, they can often maintain a healthy, quality friendship even after they stop having sex.

Post-FWB Friendships

You might wonder what happens to the friendship after the “with benefits” ends. While some might transition to a more committed relationship, most don’t. According to research, as long as people pay more attention to friendship, they can often maintain a healthy, quality friendship even after they stop having sex.

In the context of young adulthood, university life, and the beginnings of a career, casual relationships can play an important role. They are often a great way to explore different sexual activities, engage with others intimately without the demands of a long-term partnership, relieve stress, and develop a social circle.

From asex-positive perspective, casual relationships can be fun and satisfyingas long as everything is consensual.

Even though most of the scholarship has young adults as participants, older adults can enjoy the benefits of casual relationships. This happens most commonly after the end of a long-term relationship.

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wentland JJ, Reissing ED.Taking casual sex not too casually: Exploring definitions of casual sexual relationships.Can J Hum Sex. 2011;20(3):75-91.Wentland JJ, Reissing ED.Casual sexual relationships: Identifying definitions for one night stands, booty calls, f— buddies, and friends with benefits.Can J Hum Sex.2014;23(3):167-177. doi:10.3138/cjhs.2744.Kreiner H, Levi-Belz Y.Self-disclosure here and now: Combining retrospective perceived assessment with dynamic behavioral measures.Front Psychol. 2019 Mar 28;10:558. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00558Rodrigue C, Fernet M.A metasynthesis of qualitative studies on casual sexual relationships and experiences.Can J Hum Sex. 2016;25(3):225-242. doi:10.3138/cjhs.253-a6Owen J, Fincham FD, Manthos M.Friendship after a friends with benefits relationship: deception, psychological functioning, and social connectedness.Arch Sex Behav. 2013;42(8):1443-1449. doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0160-7

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wentland JJ, Reissing ED.Taking casual sex not too casually: Exploring definitions of casual sexual relationships.Can J Hum Sex. 2011;20(3):75-91.Wentland JJ, Reissing ED.Casual sexual relationships: Identifying definitions for one night stands, booty calls, f— buddies, and friends with benefits.Can J Hum Sex.2014;23(3):167-177. doi:10.3138/cjhs.2744.Kreiner H, Levi-Belz Y.Self-disclosure here and now: Combining retrospective perceived assessment with dynamic behavioral measures.Front Psychol. 2019 Mar 28;10:558. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00558Rodrigue C, Fernet M.A metasynthesis of qualitative studies on casual sexual relationships and experiences.Can J Hum Sex. 2016;25(3):225-242. doi:10.3138/cjhs.253-a6Owen J, Fincham FD, Manthos M.Friendship after a friends with benefits relationship: deception, psychological functioning, and social connectedness.Arch Sex Behav. 2013;42(8):1443-1449. doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0160-7

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Wentland JJ, Reissing ED.Taking casual sex not too casually: Exploring definitions of casual sexual relationships.Can J Hum Sex. 2011;20(3):75-91.Wentland JJ, Reissing ED.Casual sexual relationships: Identifying definitions for one night stands, booty calls, f— buddies, and friends with benefits.Can J Hum Sex.2014;23(3):167-177. doi:10.3138/cjhs.2744.Kreiner H, Levi-Belz Y.Self-disclosure here and now: Combining retrospective perceived assessment with dynamic behavioral measures.Front Psychol. 2019 Mar 28;10:558. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00558Rodrigue C, Fernet M.A metasynthesis of qualitative studies on casual sexual relationships and experiences.Can J Hum Sex. 2016;25(3):225-242. doi:10.3138/cjhs.253-a6Owen J, Fincham FD, Manthos M.Friendship after a friends with benefits relationship: deception, psychological functioning, and social connectedness.Arch Sex Behav. 2013;42(8):1443-1449. doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0160-7

Wentland JJ, Reissing ED.Taking casual sex not too casually: Exploring definitions of casual sexual relationships.Can J Hum Sex. 2011;20(3):75-91.

Wentland JJ, Reissing ED.Casual sexual relationships: Identifying definitions for one night stands, booty calls, f— buddies, and friends with benefits.Can J Hum Sex.2014;23(3):167-177. doi:10.3138/cjhs.2744.

Kreiner H, Levi-Belz Y.Self-disclosure here and now: Combining retrospective perceived assessment with dynamic behavioral measures.Front Psychol. 2019 Mar 28;10:558. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00558

Rodrigue C, Fernet M.A metasynthesis of qualitative studies on casual sexual relationships and experiences.Can J Hum Sex. 2016;25(3):225-242. doi:10.3138/cjhs.253-a6

Owen J, Fincham FD, Manthos M.Friendship after a friends with benefits relationship: deception, psychological functioning, and social connectedness.Arch Sex Behav. 2013;42(8):1443-1449. doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0160-7

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